Change afoot at Boeing - Pennsylvania inks new federal help - Retailers urge Congress to return to work - Rahman joins New York Life

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CHANGE AFOOT AT BOEING: George Roman, vice president for state and local government operations at Boeing, will retire after 33 years with the aviation company. He'll be replaced by Jennifer Lowe, who has been serving as the company’s vice president for advocacy and strategy. Lowe previously served as chief of staff to Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.). Lowe's replacement will be Art Cameron, a seventeen-year veteran of Capitol Hill, who was previously serving as chief of staff to Boeing senior vice president Tim Keating. Finally, Stephanie Johnson will take over Cameron’s role as chief of staff to Keating.

“We are losing one of our most dynamic leaders, George Roman, who has decided to retire after 33 years with the company. We will miss him greatly. He has been one of Boeing’s strongest leaders," Keating said in an internal staff memo. “The good news is that we have developed a deep bench of talent in Government Operations over the past several years. That has been a priority of mine because it makes it possible for us to deal with change without missing a beat."

PENNSYLVANIA INKS NEW FEDERAL HELP: The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has brought on an outside firm for work on federal health care issues. The Keystone state has hired Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney to work on Affordable Care Act implementation, Medicaid waiver and block grant issues, Medicaid expansion issues and other healthcare related topics. Michael Strazzella and Timothy Costa are listed on the account. Pennsylvania had Birch, Horton, Bittner & Cherot and L.G. Strategies on lobbying contracts in 2013 but terminated both in the second quarter.

GOOD THURSDAY AFTERNOON where it’s been 42 years since the London Bridge was re-dedicated at a ceremony in Lake Havasu City, Arizona. The bridge spanned the Thames in London between 1831 and 1967, when it was dismantled. In the late 60s, the bridge was purchased by an American oil magnate, who had it dismantled and reassembled in Arizona. It was rededicated on Oct. 10, 1971. Send your lobbying news, gossip, tips and scoops to btau@politico.com. And keep up with PI on Twitter by following @ByronTau or @PoliticoPI.

RETAILERS URGE CONGRESS TO RETURN TO WORK: The National Retail Federation became the latest major trade association in weigh in on the government shutdown. In a new letter to Congress, NRF president and CEO Matthew Shay called on members to “get back to work” and to stop “governing from crisis to crisis.” The association also created and distributed a short video with small business owners touting retail’s connection to Main Street communities and is engaging grassroots advocates. NRF is also running print ads on the negative economic impact the shutdown is having on consumer confidence. See the letter here: http://bit.ly/1acLmr0

RAHMAN JOINS NEW YORK LIFE:New York Life has hired Pooja Rahman as vice president. Rahman — formerly manager and counsel, international policy and analysis for the National Association of Insurance Commissioners — will be responsible for developing and implementing policy positions for the company.

TURENNE JUMPS TO BURSON: Burson-Marsteller has hired communications strategist Bill Turenne, Jr. as director in its DC-based public affairs and crisis practice. Bill comes to Burson from BGR Group, where he was vice president of public relations. Previously, Bill served in the George W. Bush White House communications office and as an advance aide to two Defense secretaries. Burson’s U.S. Practice Chair, Steve Lombardo said: “We are thrilled to have Bill join the public affairs team at Burson. His background and expertise will be a great help to our growing list of clients.”

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MAMMOVAN LUNCHEON DRAWS CROWD: Downtowners turned out in force to support the "La Vita e Bella in Rosa Luncheon." The event at the Italian Embassy Wednesday was in support of the Mobile Mammography Program at the GW Medical Faculty Associates. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp served as the honorary chair and keynote speaker and Rep. Billy Long presented the silent auction items at the event that raised more than $350,000 to help provide free breast cancer screenings for women in the Washington, D.C., area. Downtowners on the board for the Mammovan event: Blair Watters, chair of the GW Medical Faculty Associates Women's Health Board; Jennifer Platt of the International Council of Shopping Centers; Sarah Bovim of Whirlpool Corp.; Jacqui Henry of the Henry Foundation; Tiffany Moore of Moore Strategies; Courtney Geduldig of Standard and Poors; Kimberly Woodard of the WPG Group; and Kathryn McGriff of GW Medical Faculty Associates. Others on hand for the event include: Robb Watters and Marcus Mason of the Madison Group; Lita Frazier of CBOE; and Missy Edwards of Missy Edwards Strategies.

GEOPHYSICAL UNION HIRES ALEXANDRA SHULTZ:Alexandra Shultz has joined the American Geophysical Union as the organization’s director of public affairs, the association announced Wednesday. In her new role, she'll develop public affairs strategies for the union — which works on Earth and space sciences issues. She comes to the AGU from the Union of Concerned Scientists, where she headed the climate and energy program there. Shultz said: “I’m excited to be joining the talented team at AGU and am looking forward to highlighting for policy makers the importance of Earth and space science to our country’s future, especially at a time when that science is threatened by budget cuts and other challenges.”

MEDICAL DEVICE REPEAL TAX RESURFACES: Burgess Everett reports for POLITICO that Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) is floating a kind of fiscal bargain that would repeal the tax, reopen the government and change the way committees administer the sequester: "The initial reception has been positive and may be the beginnings of a bipartisan solution to end the intractable impasse between House Republicans and Senate Democrats," Everett reports. "Collins said Sens. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who are also being watched as potential GOP votes to end the fiscal standoff, have signed onto the proposal. And Collins said she has spoken to "several Democrats" about her plan, which she hopes "at least provides concepts that could be the basis for us reopening government." The tax has been subject to a good bit of lobbying and advocacy recently. More here: http://politi.co/17Zrdr2

BACKER: LEGALIZE BITCOIN: DB Capitol Strategies’ Dan Backer has an op-ed in POLITICO calling for the Federal Election Commission to approve the use of Bitcoin for campaign donations. “The federal government is on the verge of issuing a decision that could revolutionize the ways political campaigns are conducted and, in the long run, affect the spending practices of every consumer in America. The [FEC] has been asked to issue guidance to political campaigns on accepting contributions in the form of a new digital currency called Bitcoin. It’s a great idea. Bitcoin political contributions will expand the number of Americans who can get involved in campaigns to support the candidates they want, how they want. It is the next logical iteration of democratization of the political process enabled by the Internet.” More here: http://politi.co/1acG3If

LOCAL BLINK: The shutdown’s most visible casualty is D.C.’s self government. The latest shutdown has put the District of Columbia in a familiar position: political pawn. “There’s no city, no county and no state that can’t spend it’s own local funds at this stage,” D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray said in an interview. And, Gray added, “There’s no votes in either house [of Congress] to get us out.” Byron has more in his other role as local politics correspondent for POLITICO: http://politi.co/1bfAVoY

UPDATE: PI linked an item in Wednesday's roundup about the 501c3 and 501c4 arms of Center for American Progress. CAP notes that their employee was using her 501c4 email, not her 501c3 email as the item alleges.

ELSEWHERE IN THE INFLUENCE WORD:

LEAVING ON A JET PLANE: Roll Call reports that Patton Boggs is lobbying on the Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airporthttp://bit.ly/16ToEcq

PERIODIC REMINDER: Senate campaigns file on paper for no discernable reason. The shutdown will delay the digitization of that data. http://bit.ly/162IcVD

IN THE STATES: Ever had this impulse? A lobbyist files suit against the entire Colorado legislature. http://cbsloc.al/19oXpVs

NEW LOBBYING REGISTRATIONS: (Firm: Client)

Active Policy Solutions: Varsity Brands

Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

Health and Medicine Counsel of Washington: Immucor, Inc.

MWW Group: Coolerado Corporation

MWW Group: Global Down Syndrome Foundation

Prime Policy Group: Organization for International Investment

Rubicon Advisors: Alliance to Prevent the Abuse of Medicines

Rubicon Advisors: College of American Pathologists

Van Scoyoc Associates: Spectrum

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